Academic powerhouse Southlake Carroll school district is among the handful of Tarrant County districts that met federal accountability standards this year.
For years, all 11 Carroll schools have also earned the highest rating on the state's four-tier academic scale.But in two years, even the 7,600-student district may be in the strange position of being labeled exemplary by the state but a failure by the federal government.That's because by 2014, the goal of the federal Adequate Yearly Progress program is to have 100 percent of students at each school reach reading and math test standards. That's a tall order, even for school districts with strong academic programs such as Carroll, Grapevine-Colleyville and Keller. This year, some 48 percent of Texas schools failed to meet the federal requirements.As students return to schools across Tarrant County on Monday, teachers will be working to prepare them for standardized tests that form the basis for state and federal accountability. The federal standards get tougher each year: Passing requirements are set to go up 13 points for reading and 17 points for math by 2014.Yet some educators, parents and politicians question the value of the AYP measurement and whether the requirements are unrealistic."I do question, honestly, with 48 percent not passing, are we really learning something valuable? That's a legitimate question," said Read Ballew, Carroll's school board president. "You really do have to question what passing and failing AYP really means. If it's only half the school districts basically are passing, I would have to say passing what? Do we really believe that half the school districts in Texas are inadequate?"In Grapevine-Colleyville, trustees at a recent workshop questioned whether 100 percent is possible. A board member said the variables in students' everyday lives -- from skipping breakfast to quarreling with parents -- could derail the best academic plans when failure is anything less than 100 percent.State Board of Education member Patricia Hardy of Weatherford said it is time to scrap No Child Left Behind."It's like they're asking the educators in the state of Texas to serve two masters," said Hardy, whose district includes Ellis, Johnson, Parker and parts of Tarrant County. "We have a whole lot of school districts around here who are being criticized. Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD, they did not meet AYP. That is insane that a school district like that did not meet AYP."School reformsThe Adequate Yearly Progress standards grew out of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which has its roots in education reforms championed by President George W. Bush when he was governor.Under No Child Left Behind, schools must give a statewide standardized test every year. Those that receive federal Title I funds face sanctions if they do not show enough improvement in test scores."We first passed a statewide accountability system in 1993 and during the years of then-Gov. Bush there were several improvements, such as eliminating social promotion," said David Dunn, chief of staff to former Education Secretary Margaret Spellings. He is now executive director of the Texas Charter Schools Association. "When he became president, he came in convinced that in order to improve achievement they needed an accountability system. That's something that President Bush brought in, that accountability was crucial to driving improved student achievement."AYP is designed to measure how well districts, campuses and charter schools are preparing students to be proficient in math and reading. It also includes data on attendance and high school graduation and the percentage of students taking the tests.The state's data shows that the graduation rate has improved, reaching a record 85.9 percent for the Class of 2011, 1.6 percentage points higher than the Class of 2010. And students had to meet higher graduation requirements than before, as the first group required to earn four credits each in math, science, social studies and English.The passing rate for the standard gets tougher every year. In 2008-09, students had to make 67 percent in reading and 58 percent in math. This year, the standards were 87 percent for reading, 83 percent for math.Schools that fail two years or more in the same subject face sanctions and must use part of their federal funding on improvements. Only schools that receive Title I federal funding -- which pays for programs for students from low-income families -- are subject to sanctions. The sanctions range from Stage 1, for schools that miss the mark for two consecutive years, to Stage 5, for those that fail for six or more years.Below the standardIn 2012, Keller schools missed the mark for the first time. The Fort Worth district as a whole, and 84 individual schools, did not meet the standard, up from 75 in 2011. Aledo, Carroll and Cleburne were the only area districts that met the requirements, as did several charter schools.Grapevine-Colleyville trustees were anxious about the future when they discussed the district's recent AYP performance. The district as a whole missed the mark, as did both high schools and several other campuses."We're pretty disappointed," Superintendent Robin Ryan said. "We've increased in every area, and still missed AYP."Rick Westfall, the chief learning officer, said it is important to understand that the requirements for passing were higher this year, students were assessed on new material versus the old standards, and "we didn't even know what the [passing] standards were until after the test was administered."The district's other indicators, and even its improved AYP performance, prove that schools are succeeding, he said."Even with new material and higher standards, we are scoring well above what the region's doing, and the state of Texas," Westfall said.In Fort Worth, 34 schools are in Stage 1 of sanctions, meaning they did not meet the standard for two consecutive years, and 10 are in Stage 5.Opting outAt least 33 states have sought to opt out of No Child Left Behind requirements. But the federal waiver is in exchange for agreeing to adopt certain policies, such as moving toward standards to ensure that students are college-ready, which some interpret as tacit approval of a nationwide common curriculum."The state is still weighing all of our options and we will make a decision that is in the best interests of Texas schools and students," said Josh M. Havens, a spokesman for the governor's office.The strings attached don't sit well with Dunn, of the charter school association."I do think the Department of Education and Secretary [Arne] Duncan have overreached in terms of the conditions they're trying to get states to agree to in trying to get a waiver," Dunn said.Staff writer Shirley Jinkins contributed to this report.Jessamy Brown, 817-390-7326Twitter: @jessamybrownHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
